UNDRESSING THE THE

J. Poet - HITS – 2000

TIME TO GO SOUL MINING WITH THE THE’S MATT JOHNSON.

Matt Johnson and The The have been making fiercely independent music since the ‘Burning Blue Soul’ album (4AD) and ‘Perfect’ single in 1979. Johnson was as inspired by folk music as he was by the Beatles, hoping his voice could make a difference in a world increasingly driven by capitalist greed and insanity.

I’ve been passionate about music as long as I can remember,’ Johnson says. ‘When I was four or five, I’d be singing in my parent pub and when I was asked , I’d say I was going to be a singer when I grow up. It’s unusual to know what you want at that age, and even more unusual to make it happen. I know I’m lucky.’ In 1980, Johnson really got lucky.

A fluke single ‘Uncertain Smile’ – got him signed to Epic, which gave him artistic control over his music. The The, named after a fictional band in a comic strip, is more of a collective than a band, and has included former Smith Johnny Marr, one time Soft Cell Marc Almond and Jim ‘Feotus’ Thirlwell, to name a few. A few years ago, Johnson moved to New York City, where he settled down, had a child and recorded his latest, ,NakedSelf’, another soulful, anti-corporate blast, his first for Trent Reznor’s Nothing label. Johnson is presently planning his own logo to mine his back catalogue, including various albums that have gone unreleased due to their ‘lack of commercial potential.’ Someone who knows something about the lack of commercial potential is HITS’ own lapsed Beatnik j.poet ‘Ree In Motion.’

Did having a child change the way you approach your art and/or your life?

I don’t have as much time to play my guitar and write, which is a major problem. Being a musician is a solitary and selfish profession; there’s a element of perpetual adolescence involved, which I’d always denied. Children take up time and tire you out, but they add another dimension to you life. They’re very humorous when they’re fed and warm and dry, so they bring that lightness into your life.

Do you consider yourself a singer/songwriter or pop artist?

I’m a singer/songwriter. Pop artists are people like Britney Spears and exist in a world I’ve never felt any connection with. I was inspired by John Lennon, and singer/songwriters like Hank Williams, Robert Johnson, Woody Guthrie….people with a guitar and a passionate point of view. I still believe music can make a difference.

‘The muse is usually there when I roll up my sleeves and work, but only if I meet it half way…’

It usually takes years for you to produce a new album.

Some songs take a long time to hatch, some come out very quickly. I record a lot of stuff that I don’t use. The music tends to be easy; the lyrics are harder. There’s no hiding in a lyric. You hear everything that’s there, so there’s pressure to produce quality, which increases writer’s block. I’ve tried writing with my left hand, which can get some good unconscious stuff, and using a manual typewriter, so you have to edit a thought before you put it down. The muse is usually there when I roll up my sleeves and work, but only if I meet it halfway.

The new album, ‘NakedSelf’, was turned down by your label. This is the second one in a row they’ve turned down, isn’t it’

They wanted me to make it more commercial, and we argued about that over a ten month period, during which I went back to London and recorded ‘Gun Sluts’, which they also rejected. That’s a harsh album, but I own the master tape and I’ll put it out on my own label, sometime next year. When they heard the demos of ‘Gun Sluts’ they asked me to leave the building.

Artists get signed because they have a unique way of doing things, then the label ask them to be like everyone else.

I got signed under false pretences. I had a hit with ‘Uncertain Smile’ and my manager also managed Soft Cell at the time, so they thought they might be getting the next big thing. But they did give me artistic control, and I managed to sell some records for them, despite the lack of ‘commercial appeal.’ I hadn’t made an album in a while, so they had reservations about putting any money into this one.

In addition to the usual acoustic stuff, parts of ‘NakedSelf’ are pretty dense and industrial.

I usually go in the studio with notes on each song, kind of a road map, so we know the general direction we’re going, so what you hear is what we played. I set some parameters by not using samplers, digital effects or computers. We even tuned by ear, and you can get wonderful sounds when things are just slightly out of tune. There’s a bit of tape echo and delay, but most of it went on tape the way we played it.

On tunes like ‘Global Eyes’ and ‘Swine Fever’, you’re still biting the corporate hand that feeds you.

If I could, I’d bite it to the bone and rip it off. Corporate capitalism infects all aspects of life, particularly in America. The major news outlets are owned by a handful of companies. I believe Microsoft’s economy is almost bigger than that of France or England. They shuffle money around from country to country. Five percent of the people in the U.S. control 50% of the world’s resources. They have nine-year old girls working in sweatshops in Indonesia so we can have cheap shoes…..So, yes, I feel strongly about it, and hope I can make a difference.